Locomotive



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Locomotive Steam Engine. i No. 5,787.. o Patonted Soptl19 1348;

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Locomotive Steam Engine.

Paten ted Sept. 19, 1848.

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Locomotive Steam Engine.

No. 5,787. Patented "Sept. 19,1848,

Cowzivzueolfwowv L u U I n- PETERS, Pbulmli'hogmpher. Walhing'on, D. C.

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Locomotive Steam Engine. No. 5.787. PatentdsSept.19,1848.

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c. A. .N ICOLLS. Loco motive. Steam Engine.

Patented Sept. 19; I

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" UNITED STATES @PATENT oniuonf GUSTAVUS A. NICOLLS, OFtREADING, PENNSYLVANIA.

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' Specification of Letters Patent No. 5,?87, dated. September 19', 1848.

' To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAVUS. A. Niconns,

of Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Locomotive Steam-Engines, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the principle or character which distinguishes them from all other things before known and of the manner of making, constructing, and using the same, reference being had to the'accompanying drawings, making part of this specie fication, in which? Figure l is a side elevation of the engine, boiler, and tender; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section taken through the engine and boiler; and Figs. 3, stand 5 cross vertical sec- I tions taken at the lines (Ad), (136), and (C0) 'of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The drawings are on a scale of 9; of an inch to the foot the same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

Much as the locomotive steam engine has,

been improved within the short period of time since its introduction, to the investie gating mind it still presents manyv glaring defects, some of which have been considered as necessarily resulting from the very nature of railroads, others from the tendency of the human mind to run into extremes in its efforts to devise means for the accomplish-' ment of desired ends, without regard to that system of compensations which should ever be observed in all mechanical structures'in .which perfection cannot be expected. The

desire to obtain the required tractionv to enable a locomotive to overcome high grades was for a time the leading object of engineers and engine builders, and their aim'was so to construct the engine asto increase to V the utmost the weight on the driving wheels,

but in their zeal to accomplish this desired end they did not observe that by accumulat= ing too much Weight on the drivers for this purpose the engine would become'vcry injurious to the road by the concentration of too much weight on the small portion of road acted upon under high velocities. This injurious. effect was only perceived'and appreciated after the cost of repairs of roads came of size in thewidth has remained the same;

to be considered. Again, locomotives were gradually increased in power without a corresponding increase in size, and while this increase of power has been going on" the limit andno effectual attempt has been made to alterthe general structure with referenceto this ncrease of power and the nature of the i fuel used. Experience and the deductions of used with economy in thin layers and-over 5 an, extensive surface, but from the mode of {construction heretofore and -now generally jpractised, the fire box was necessarily lim-' ited in Width requiring the coal to be burned in thick layers and under so great an'instea1n, as to be wasteful of the fuel, and ihighly injurious tothe metal in contact or gin close proximity to the fuel, the Water 1 ways on each side of the fire box being neces isarily so limited as not to aifordby the cirwhich could be given by water Ways of &c,, thus rendering the use of steam of very 'high pressure indispensable, the objections recognized to be mentioned here. intensity of heat required led to the discharge gof the exhaust steam from the cylinders into the' chimney in small jets to increase the ';tion of the steam on the piston, which necessarily reduces the effective force ofthe steam from the boiler, and the discharge of sparks ifrom thevchimney as well as theescape of riage made with the road.

science show that anthracite coal canonly be fitensity, to generate the required am'ountofculation of the water the extent of relief ggreatercapacity. The placing of the steam gcylinders on each side of the boiler not only gg'reatly limits the width .of the boiler but also that of the steam cylinders, steam pipes,

to. t-heuse of, which are too well knownand- H The great the products of combustion in a highly heated {should be produced by pressure and not exhaustion, the formertendingto retain the the'flame impingingagainstthe surface to idraft, the evil effects of which are thereacthe latter. induces them to pass out in rapid i istruction the capacity ;of the engine isfcer J tainly limited by the width offroad andby To overcome, the objections pointed out abovelhave varied in a great measure-the 1 i =system heretofore pursued in the construc i;

tion of} locomotive steam engines by: placing i a the boiler and the *e'ngine on" separate car-n .105 dueregardtothe curves of A V ing wheels, and also presenting the addi riages connected together," and to this sys term I have applied my improvements; The

first part of my invention consists in the employment of a boiler of greater width than heretofore used on railroads, that is to say to the full capacity of the width of the frame of the carriage, (leaving just room of the flue tubes and back through them to the stack which is placed above the furnace door, when this is placed on, and carried by a separate carriage of six, eight, ten, or more running wheels, and COIIlb1I18d W1lll1 an engine on a separate carriage withdriving wheels, by which arrangement and combination, I am enabled to obtain a large extent of'fire surface to burn anthracite coal with the same economy as in stationary and marine boilers, and to extend the capacity of the boiler to the limits of the carrying capacity and. size of a carriage independently of the cylinders and other machinery of the engine, at the same time avoiding the wear and tear to which the boilers of locomotives, as heretofore constructed, are exposed by reason of the working of the engine and the greater jar to which that carriage is exposed by reason of the action of the drivtionaladvantage of being transferable to any engine so that when the'engine, which is most liable to derangement, requires re-' pairs the boilermay be used equally well with another.

The second part of my invention consists in employing a horizontal cylinder constituting the body of the engine into which the water produced by the condensation of the escape steam shall becdischarged prepara tory to its being transferred to the boiler, which cylinder is also to be connected with the tender to receive the supply water which is heated by the wateriof condensation, this vessel or cylinder being of such capacity as to contain the quantity of water necessary to. graduate theweight of the engine to the amount of traction required and to the supporting capacity of bridges and'other parts of the road. I

V The third part of my invention consists in providing this water heater or cylinder with an air condenser 'of steam into which the steam is to exhaust and to be condensed by Y'contact with the metal surface of the con denser which is kept down to the required temperature by' the action of the "air, the

' the pistons.

then condensed which produces a partial. vacuum, thereby rendering more effective the action of the steam from the boiler on And the fourth part of my invention consists in combining the closed ash pan under the furnace grate of the boiler with a fan on the engine by means" .of a flexible connecting pipe whereby the required blast can be'given from the engine on a separate carriage.

In the accompanying drawings (a) represents the external form of the boiler which is similar to what is familiarly called the wagon top boiler. drical with vertical water ways (a, c ning along the sides from end to end and extending down to the grate 01) which is iprovided with a closefitting (e) at the back, and a firebridge' (f) about lmidway of the length of the'boiler, thus @constituting a fire chamber of great capacity with a closed ash pan (9) below, the space extending from the fire bridge to the other head of the boiler, constitutinga flue space of great capacity which extends up near to Its top (5) is semi-cylinrunurnace door the top of the rear part ofthe boiler to communicate with the'ends of 'the series of tube flues (h), the other end of these tubes being made to communicate with the smoke ,box (2') surmountedwith a stack in the usual manner. i t

The bottom of the boiler is an in- .v'erted arch the sides 'ofwhich are secured to the upper edges of the inside plates of the water ways, the other arch forming the top being secured to the outside plates of these water ways so as to leave a free communication between the water ways and the body iof'the boiler which is nearly cylindrical and provided with the series of horizontal flue tubes, that communicate as before stated with the vertical flue at the forward end and the smoke box situated at the rear and just over the furnace'door, so that the fire acts directly against the sides of the water ways,

and the bottom of the boiler along their whole length, the products of combustion passing up the vertical part of the flue space,

and through the series of tubes to the smoke box and then out at the chimn'ey. The boiler thus constructed is properly secured to the side pieces of a carriage (Z) which is" "supported on two trucks space enoughoutside the'boiler for the enm, m) leaving gineer or fireman to pass :from one" end to the other,.the' side pieces of the carriage having an iron railing forthe protec tion of the men. M i q The boiler carriage isconnected with the engine carriageby a draft link (0), in the usual manner of connecting carriages, ex-

- there is a steam pipe (q) tothe upper end of which is fitted a throttle valve (1'); This steam pipe runs along horizontally in the upper art of the boiler to the forward end thereof, and there turns up to form a collar (8), in which fits the lower end of a short vertical pipe (I?) the upper end of which is closed and turns in a standard (a), and it is provided with two short branches onto which are fitted by packing boxes the curved branches ('0, v) of a part of the main steam pipe that connects with a packed telescope joint with another part thereof, which is .in turn connected by similar packed swivel joints with the upper part of a dome (2) attached to the upper part of the hOI'lzontal cylinder (00) which constitutes the body of the engine on the carriage (b). The lower part of the dome (z) is also provided with a sliding throttle valve (2 to govern the aperture in the continuation of the steam pipe that passes inside of and along the upper part of the cylindrical body (a') to the forward end thereof where it branches oif to conduct the steam to the two steam chests (0, 0' placed together with the two steam cylinders (d, d), one

on each side of the forward end of the watercylinder (a). v

The throttle valve (2 in the dome (2) on the engine gives the engine man, who can readily reach it, the means of conveniently regulating the admission of steam; but: the one in the dome of the boiler, which is not so accessible, is required'for cutting off the fiow of steam whenever it becomes necessary to separate the boiler carriage from the enine. g The several joints in the steam pipe above described admit of the free play required between the two carriages in passing along the curves, and over undulations on the road,

and in starting and stopping, at the same the joints prevents time that the packing of the escape of steam.

The steam cylinder of the engine exhausts into the upper part of the water cylinder through the exhaustports (6'),(0116 only shown in the drawing) and the steam is condensed by rising into an air condenser (7) which is attached to the upper part of the cylinder (a) in the form of a chimney, with an inner pipe (g), the upper end of which is connected with the upper end of the outer case by a funnel so that the steam, as it is exhausted rises in the space between the outer casing, and the inner pipe and funnel and is there condensed by the conducting qualities of the metal which is kept cool by passing through the air. The water thus produced falls back into the water cylinder (a) in, a heated state to be pumped back The valves (2,

into the boiler by the action of two feed pumps (71,, ii) that receive the water from a water chamber ('5') at the bottom of the water cylinder and force it through two water piper (j, j), that pass up'through the: water cylinder, out through the sides, andv around to the rear end thereof where they are each connectedwith one end of an elbow pipe by a packed joint that turns vertically; the lever end of the elbow is connected by apacked joint with a short 7 inverted siphon formed pipe (Z) the end of which is connected by a sliding packed.

joint with a like pipe (91%) which inturn is connected by a turning packed ointwith another elbow pipe (0%), that is again connected' with a nozzle. (0) from the boiler with a packed joint that'turnsfat right 7 angles to the other turning joints,,so that by these 'means the two carriages are at liberty tovibrate in any direction, the joints 'of these pipes admitting of motions inall directions, and the joints being kept tight by bridles and screws (19, p). V The supply pumps are operated by two eccentrics (q', g) on the second driving axle (r), the piston rods (8) being con-.-

nected with the eccentrics by means ofthe connecting rods (t) only one of the eccen 'trics, pump rods, and connecting rods are represented in the drawings. 1 lVater is supplied from the tender (10), (which as usual is on a separate carriage, connected by a draft link ('0') with the boiler carriage) ,by means of a pipe ,(wc) that runs along by the side of the boiler'to the water cylinder at) where it is provided;

with a cock ('m") by which thezquantity of 'waterto be discharged into thecylinder. can be regulated'two sections ofthis pipe, at. the junctions of the carriages as at (y, '11),

being made of'leather, or ot'heriflexible sub stance to yield to the vibrations of the car riages. By this means not only is the supply of water arising from the waste or inn-- perfect condensation, supplied, but the :iweight of the steam carriage'regulated at pleasure to suit the condition or circumstances of the roadand the duty to be pera 1 v r i I are -.operated by the formed. v

eccentrics (a, a on the main driving jointed to the arms (03, d) of arock shaft below the water cylinder (a); and the other arms (f", f,) are in like manner j ointed to connecting rods (9, 9) (that pass up through .a vertical tube (h) that pass through the water cylinder). and

operate a rock shaft ('i) above connected ,fan'blower (10) which is to be operated by a small rotary engine on its shaft; the ro shaft (5"), the rods (0, 0)v of which are i in the usual manner with the Valve rods.

tary engine and small pipe to supply it with steam notbeing represented, as this mode of operating fan blowers on locomotives is well known.

The blast pipe (Z") from the fan case passes down through the water cylinder and runs along below it to the junction of the two carriages where a section (mfg? of the pipe is made of leather or other exible substance, the pipe then continues to' the forward end of the closed ash pan to blow the fire, so that the fire is excited and supplied with oxygen not by exhaustion, but by pressure, theefl'ect of which is that the fiame produced impinges against the bottom of the boiler, and the highly heated gaseous products of combustion then pass through the tube flues to the smoke box and chimney, first giving out the greater part of their heat to the flueswhich transmit it to the water. The connecting rods of the engines take hold of the crank pins (n,) on the driving wheels (0") of the main driving shaft (b) which are connected by connecting rods (p) with the driving wheels (9") of the other three axles which also become drivers.

The steam cylinders (d, d) are connected with the sides of the water cylinder ((1') near the forward end thereof in a firm and solid manner as shown in the drawings, and the water cylinder is properly and firmly secured to the top of the carriage (b) in the usual manner of making such connections. The driving shafts are also connected with their carriage in the usual manner.

I am aware that a locomotive was invented in the year 1838 for the GreatWestern Railroad in England in which the boiler and engine was placed on separate car riages, simply to obtain room on the engine carriage for cog gearing that the re quired velocity might be given to the driving wheels with the slow motions of the pistons to bring their motions down to the standard of moving velocity of steam pistons given by Watt, but no change was made .or contemplated in the boiler, which is one of the leading objects of my invention. The only object contemplated in the production of this engine in 1838, has long since been attained in locomotives that have the boiler and engine onone and the same carriage by simply increasing the length and by other alterations in the arrangement of the parts to make room for the gearing required, but the purposes for which I place the boiler andengine on separate carriages was never contemplated or understood and require entirely different combinations and arrangements; and therefore, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not claim as my invention simply placing the boiler and engine .on separate carriages; but

What I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The employment of a boiler constructed in the manner, and for the purposes and objects substantially as herein described,

when combined with an engine on a separate carriage, substantially as described.

2. The employment of a cylinder to constitute the body of the engine carriage connected and combined with the steam cylinders, substantially as described, into which the steam cylinders exhaust to act as a hot well and partialcondenser and to give the required weight to the engine that the traction of the driving wheels and the weight may be regulated and adapted to the load to be drawn and to the condition of the road, as described.

3. I claim the air condenser in combinaftion with the steam cylinders and water cylinders for the purpose of condensing the exhaust steam, substantially as described, the condenser being cooled by the action of the atmosphere.

4. And finally, I claim placing the closed carriage in combination with the fan blower placed on theengine carriage, the two' being connected by means of an elastic or other yielding pipe, substantially as described.

GUSTAVUS A. NICOLLS.

Witnesses:

DAVID E. S'rou'r, E. C. CALDWELL.

'ash pan of the boiler furnace on the boiler, 

